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Wimbledon champ Kvitova all set for Devonshire Park - eastbourneherald.co.uk
Reigning Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova heads into the AEGON International tournament in a rich vein of form after reaching the semi-finals of the French Open earlier this month.
Kvitova was beaten in straight sets by eventual winner and new world number one Maria Sharapova, the same opponent whom she beat in last year’s Wimbledon final to take the crown.
The Czech, whose run to the semi-final was her best in the tournament to date, reached the final of the AEGON International last year but lost to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, who also returns to Eastbourne to try and defend her title.
Despite her recent success, Kvitova heads to Devonshire Park as the number two seed behind Agnieszka Radwanska.
Radwanska is currently enjoying the highest world ranking of her career at number three after a successful start to the year. She won the Dubai Tennis Championship and the Sony Ericsson Open, beating Venus Williams and current AEGON International champion Bartoli on the way. Former world number ones Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki have also announced their place in this year’s line-up.
Wozniacki won the tournament in 2009 and makes her return as number three seed after a shaky start to the year. She lost her world number one ranking to Victoria Azarenka in late January and has gone on to suffer defeats at the hands of Kvitova, Radwanska, Lucie Safarova, Ivanovic and Angelique Kerber since then – all of whom are competing in this year’s Eastbourne International.
The women will all battle it out on the Devonshire Park grass courts between 16 and 23 June for a $600,000 prize.
WOMEN’S DRAW: 1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL, 2 Petra Kvitova CZE, 3 Caroline Wozniacki DEN, 4 Marion Bartoli FRA, 5 Vera Zvonareva RUS, 6 Angelique Kerber GER, 7 Ana Ivanovic SRB, 8 Daniela Hantuchova SVK, Shuai Peng CHN, Lucie Safarova CZE, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS, Kaia Kanepi EST, Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS, Petra Cetkovska CZE, Jie Zheng CHN, Mona Barthel GER, Christina Mchale USA, Marina Erakovic NZL, Ekaterina Makarova RUS, Galina, Voskoboeva KAZ, Tsvetana Pironkova BUL, Klara Zakopalova CZE, Carla Suarez Navarro ESP, Sorana Cirstea U
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Print this pageSource: www.eastbourneherald.co.uk
UK: Morrisons likely to report fall this year - FreshPlaza
City sources have warned that Morrisons is 'completely off colour.' Analyst Jonathan Pritchard at stockbroker Oriel said the City was yet to wake up to the prospect that Morrisons would most likely report a decline in profits for the full year to January. Downgrades to the stock are expected in the coming weeks.
Pritchard added: "The profits pool for the supermarket industry is going to shrink. Life will be very hard unless you can find a way to take market share from other retailers."
A reliance on discounting is failing to have the desired, long term effects.
"Bribing people to come into stores only works if lapsed shoppers arrive to find things have changed for the better," said one source.
Morrisons last month said sales fell for the first time since the departure of founder Sir Ken Morrison.
Morrisons has set about accelerating its strategy to improve stores, but has faced criticism that it may have gone too far upmarket for some of its shoppers.
Chief executive Dalton Philips said in January that this year would be characterised by "very low like-for-like sales" growth.
Source: thisismoney.co.uk
Publication date: 6/11/2012
Source: www.freshplaza.com
Hornets old boys can reflect on decent start for England (From This Is Local London) - This is london Calling
Manchester United's former Watford player Ashley Young features for 90 minutes as England draw with France in Euro 2012 opener
7:08pm Monday 11th June 2012 in Latest Sport By Anthony Matthews
Ashley Young and Ray Lewington can both reflect on a job largely well done tonight as an industrious England got their Euro 2012 campaign off to a good start with a 1-1 draw against France.
The Watford Academy product, whose former boss at Vicarage Road is serving as Roy Hodgson’s number two in the national set up, played the full 90 minutes as England produced what is fast becoming a trademark hard-working, disciplined and organised display that also offered promise going forward when they were able to string together attacking moves.
And it was Manchester United’s Young who created the chance that should have seen England take a 15th-minute lead – splitting the defence with a fine pass to release James Milner, who rounded keeper Hugo Lloris, only to hit the side netting.
But England did make the breakthrough on the half-hour when captain Steven Gerrard struck a superb free-kick from the right and Joleon Lescott got goal-side of his man to head Hodgson’s men in front.
The French arguably should have equalised six minutes later when Joe Hart made a superb reaction save to keep out Alou Diarra’s header, but the Marseille midfielder missed the target from close range after Franck Ribery had kept the ball alive.
But Laurent Blanc’s side did level three minutes later when Hart was beaten at his near post by a fine strike from Manchester City club-mate Samir Nasri, although the England keeper was possibly unsighted.
As in the first half, France asked more of the attacking questions after the break but England remained determined and resolute and the likes of Parker, Danny Welbeck and Gerrard were there when called upon to get in crucial blocks or deflections to ensure Hodgson’s troops got their Group C campaign off the mark with a good point.
Source: www.thisislocallondon.co.uk
Dyche happy with Hornets - SkySports
Dyche has been touted for the vacant Birmingham job in recent weeks and was linked to the Hull City hot-seat before Steve Bruce was appointed.
But he is keen to remain at Vicarage Road following a promising debut season in charge.
"It has been very flattering to be linked with some high-profile vacancies, and I have had one or two agents sounding me out since the end of the season," he said.
Very happy
"But quite honestly I am very happy at Watford. I really appreciated the chance given to me a year ago when I was made manager after Malky (Mackay) went to Cardiff, and loyalty works both ways.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my first season; it was a great learning curve for me in so many ways and I loved every minute.
"To be within touching distance of the play-offs was very encouraging and hopefully we can continue to make more progress next season.
"Obviously I'm an ambitious person, but my ambition right now is to build on what we achieved last season and make Watford competitive in a very tough league."
Source: www1.skysports.com
Andy Roddick: This could be my last Wimbledon - YAHOO!
Former world number one Andy Roddick admits this year's Wimbledon could be his last appearance at the All England Club as he struggles to cope with the wear and tear of so many years on the ATP Tour.
Roddick is well established as one of the best grass-court players of his generation after reaching the Wimbledon final three times, losing on each occasion to Roger Federer, and also winning four titles at Queen's Club.
But as the 29-year-old American prepares to launch another grass-court campaign at Queen's next week, he is aware time is beginning to take its toll on his body.
A series of injuries over the last 18 months have sent Roddick slipping down the rankings and he is currently 27th in the world after a dispiriting year reached a new low with a first round exit from the French Open against Nicolas Mahut.
In an ideal world, Roddick, who won his only grand slam title at the US Open in 2003, hopes to play on for a few more years, but he knows his time at the top could run out sooner than expected.
"I'm just trying to play in the moment. I'm just here trying to win some matches. But do I think this could be my last Wimbledon? Possibly - but that's so much of an unknown," Roddick told the Mail on Sunday.
"Of the guys I started with, it's only Roger (Federer) left now. We were in the top 10 for so long, and everyone else's body has been banged up.
"I can't do what Rafa (Nadal) does with his racket, I can't do what Roger does with his racket.
"I guess I have to believe my coach, Larry Stefanki, when he says I can't run through walls any more. We're trying to find the fine line and work against nature a little bit."
Source: sports.yahoo.com
Wimbledon 2012: Can Venus Williams, Queen of SW19, bounce back again? - The Guardian
When Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title in 2008, beating her sister Serena in the final, it felt as if the American had a hold over the All England Club that might yield at least another few titles. Four years on and with her 32nd birthday less than a week away, Williams is fighting a bigger battle than anything in her tennis career.
At the US Open last summer, Williams revealed that she is suffering from Sjogren's syndrome, an incurable auto-immune disease which causes chronic fatigue, dryness and joint and muscle pain. Dealing with the disease is an ongoing struggle for anyone but for a professional sportswoman, particularly for one of the best athletes the women's game has ever seen, it is little short of a nightmare.
When she pulled out of the US Open, Williams vowed that she would return and said the Olympic tennis event, which takes place at Wimbledon next month, would be her goal. Had it not been for the need to earn ranking points to stay in the top four-ranked US players to be in with a chance for London 2012, her return in March at the Miami Masters might have been delayed. "I wasn't really ready to come back," Williams admits. "I had to come back because I needed points for the Olympics. I probably wouldn't have even come back until Wimbledon, maybe even after Wimbledon, something like that, but I didn't have a choice."
Watching Williams on court, it is obvious that from one day to the next, life is a battle. In her pomp, her movement was outstanding and though she can still cover the court like few others, on her difficult days she labours between points and walks slowly, using every second she can to get her breath back. On her bad days in recent months, when she could only practise for a few minutes, she used to belt out songs by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey at home. On her good days, she loves being back on the court. The problem is, she does not know how she will feel from one day to the next.
But at least now she knows what she is up against. For the past few years, Williams wondered why she was struggling at times. More than four years ago, she was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma but the medicine did not work. "I have had to get used to how I feel," she says. "I've had to get used to a lot of stuff. I'm still getting used to it. I have a lot to learn, a lot to figure out. I am just at the beginning here and every week I am making adjustments. Every week is different. It's probably not going away. All I can do is to be positive. You'll never see me down."
It is a remarkably positive attitude, albeit one you might expect from someone who has worked tirelessly to reach the very top of her sport. Between them, Venus and Serena have won nine of the past 12 titles at the All England Club. But personally, things have not been easy. Serena, too, has had recent health problems that included blood clots on her lungs. Venus and the Williams family have had to deal with the tragedy of losing their sister, Yetunde Price, who was shot and killed in 2003 not far from where they grew up in the Compton district of Los Angeles. Dealing with Sjogren's syndrome is doubtless nothing compared to that, but Venus's life in 2012 is about coping from day to day with fatigue, despite no outward signs of trouble.
Dr Simon Bowman, a consultant rheumatologist at the University Hospital of Birmingham, says it can be almost as hard to cope with Sjogren's mentally as it is physically. "Fatigue is very common in Sjogren's," he said. "That can make it quite tough. It's very variable. People can wake up one day and feel dreadful and then the next day they can wake up and feel fine. But the symptoms are not very visible and many patients find that difficult. Fatigue might not be very visible, dryness is not visible."
Having dropped out of the top 100, Williams made it to the quarter-finals in Miami, Charleston and last month in Rome, enough to get her into the top four-ranked US players – the criteria for earning direct entry into the Games this summer. When told in Rome that she had done enough (she later made sure by winning her first-round match at the French Open and is now back inside the top 50), an emotional Williams gave a little fist pump of joy. "It's awesome because I don't always feel well," she says. "So this means a lot to me. It's definitely really emotional."
Williams has also explained how hard the road back to fitness has been but she is determined not to let anything stop her. "I want to do things on my own terms. I can't have a thing take me out. I've never given up. It's important for me to prove to myself that I can do this, to prove to me that I'm a champion. If I were just to sit down and give in, I wouldn't have any respect for myself."
Dr Bowman believes it is in everyone's interests that the five-times Wimbledon champion can continue to play at the top level. "Obviously when a celebrity gets a condition it does raise its profile in the general public," he says. "It's fair to say it's not very well known. The better she does, the better it is."
An unofficial test case for the disease – Arthritis Research UK has invested £1m in a five-year clinical trial on Sjogren's syndrome – Williams may yet take a more official role in raising money for research at some stage. "I try to wave the flag for everybody with an auto-immune disease," she says. "I realise that a lot of people have it a ton worse than I have."
At her age, after so many years on Tour, getting back to the top would be hard enough without any health problems. With them, it might be impossible but Williams will not give up hope, particularly with Wimbledon looming. "I am just fighting. I know how to play tennis, but everything else is a wildcard. I'm a wildcard now. But I'm happy."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Canvey star Jessica Judd runs Olympic B qualifying time - echo-news.co.uk
Canvey star Jessica Judd runs Olympic B qualifying time
4:33pm Monday 11th June 2012 in Sport By Ryan Goad
TEENAGE star Jessica Judd has revealed she is taking it one race at a time as the prospect of her appearing at this summer’s Olympics becomes more than just a dream.
The 17-year-old ran an Olympic B-standard time of 2m 1.09s for the 800m at Watford on Saturday night, making her the fourth fastest woman in the country this year.
The time was the second fastest ever by a British junior and inside the top 10 fastest junior times in the world...ever.
And the King John School sixth-former, from Canvey, is confident she can go even faster.
“It’s so promising,” said Judd, the current World Youth Championships bronze medallist at 800m. “To have run a low 2m 1s is just amazing and I’m so happy. A few people said to me afterwards that it’s only a matter of time before I go sub two minutes. I think I’m in the shape to do it, it’s just being in the right race.
“The conditions weren’t perfect in Watford. There was a bit of wind and there were a lot of things in the race which I feel I can improve upon, like making my 200 metres more even paced for instance. It’s little things and they can make a difference. But it’s really promising. I’m stepping in the right direction.”
The Chelmsford AC teenager will next have the opportunity to run the 800m at the Olympic Trials in under two weeks’ time.
And if she does run anywhere close to sub two minutes in Birmingham and finishes in the top three, she will have given herself a very real chance, at just 17, of being part of the Great Britain squad at this summer’s Games.
Judd, however, has a mature head on young shoulders and is refusing to get carried away by such possibilities and is still maintaining focus on her main aim of the season, the World Junior Championships in Barcelona.
She said: “It’s so weird to think about what could happen. My main aim coming into the year was the World Juniors. I’m aiming to double up and do the 800m and 1,500m at those championships.
“I’m running the 1,500m at the World Junior trials this weekend and I want to go there, do well and then that’s one box ticked. Then the following week I’ll be doing the 800m at the Olympic Trials and I’ve just got to see what happens. I got to the final last year but that was the World Trials. This year it’s the Olympics and there will be a lot more people there and a lot more people desperate to do well. I just want to make the final and see what happens.”
* For more on our interview with Jessica Judd, see Friday’s athletics section in the Echo.
Source: www.echo-news.co.uk
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